Three teens convicted of raping a 13-year-old classmate were sentenced to probation by California juvenile officials after serving 120 days behind bars. The charges, forcible rape in concert and lewd acts with a child under 14 – both felony accounts – carried a maximum punishment of nine years in juvenile detention, The Press-Enterprise of Riverside, Calif. reported.
Some members of the community said probation was too lenient of a punishment for something as serious as rape, but youth law experts contended the juvenile justice system was designed to give offenders the opportunity to reform.
Juveniles convicted of rape in California do not have to register as sex offenders, said The Press-Enterprise.
So, if minors “sext” one another they can be required in some states to register as sex offenders, and in the state of California an 18 yr old boy has ‘consensual sex’ with a girl under 18, he may be required to register as a sex offender, but if a minor rapes another minor, no such registration required. I am not suggesting that these juveniles be required to register, but what I am suggesting is that those who are facing registration for sexting from one minor to the next, or for those having consensual sex, also be illiminated from registering as sex offenders. Back in the day, if an 18 year old boy had sex with an underage girl, they got married and had babies. Today, the boy goes to jail, the girl goes home. The boy regisgters as a sex offender, the girl has not charge. Something is very wrong with this picture. Perhaps the minor female who has consented to sex with her 18 year old boyfriend, should be charged with prostitution? We need to figure this very distorted situation out, it’s horrbily flawed.